Media Time-line

Friday, August 10, 2007 Jeffrey Weiss Dallas Morning News:  Church won’t hold funeral for gay man
Friday, August 10, 2007 Angela K. Brown Associated Press: Church cancels memorial for gay Navy vet
Friday, August 10 and Saturday August 11, 2007 Paul Wagner responds to Arlington High Point church public comments with a statement to blogs and media
Friday, August 10, 2007 Dr. Tim Seelig, Conductor Emeritus, Turtle Creek Chorale, and the officiator at Cecil Sinclair’s memorial makes statement  (15th comment in)

Saturday August 11, 2007 DallasNews Religion: Clarifyng one point about High Point Church and the gay man’s funeral     

Dallas Morning News story is picked up by several alternative media sites
The Associated Press article is picked up by media outlets world wide
The story goes from about 12 outlets to over 200, including US broadcast media
Over 2 thousand blogs pick up the story     

Sunday, August 12, 2007 Jason Trahan Dallas Morning News: Church defends decision on gay man’s funeral
Sunday, August 12, 2007 Media release Arlington High Point Church: Statement from High Point Church pastor
Sunday, August 12, 2007 Arlington High Point Church puts a statement on it’s website: High Point Church Could Not Allow an Openly Homosexual Service in the Church
A cached version of the original is not available: Error 401 - Unauthorized. 
Sunday, August 12, 2007 Jason Trahan DallasNews Religion Backstory: Transcript from High Point Church  Gary Simons stood in his pulpit and prayed for those of us who said this was wrong. He prayed in tongues too. Did he have an interpreter as Paul admonishes?

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Paul Bourgeois Star-Telegram: Church backs out of man’s funeral   

Wednesday, August 15, 2007  Jeffrey Weiss DallasNews Religion: The photos the family gave to the church of the gay man

Timeline of Cecil Howard Sinclair’s memorial  

46 year old Cecil Sinclair died Monday August 6, 2007 from a surgical infection. He was Fort Worth native, graduated from Sam Houston High School in Arlington in 1979 and from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. He was a Navy veteran of Desert Storm. An Arlington High Point unnamed staff member arrives at the hospital after he dies and offers to hold his memorial service at the church. Cecil’s brother Lee is a janitor at the church, which had been praying for Cecil since he became ill six years ago. Eva Bowers, Cecil’s mother, a nurse, moved in to care for Cecil a year prior to his death. The family accepts the church offer and preparations begin for a video, food, and the memorial. The memorial was scheduled for Thursday, August 9, 2007.    

Tuesday August 7, 2007, Cecil’s sister Kathleen Wright, works with two church AV staff to prepare the photos. Paul Wagner’s statement says 83 pictures were submitted, and there was one photo which could be considered offensive. It was removed, and at no time did the family ask it be included.
The two AV church staff did not say anything to the family about any other photos. Paul Wagner says the AV director received a written note from Cecil’s mother Eva Bowers giving her permission to “use his judgement” if he had a problem with any of them.
He said he could edit or crop the photos, so there wouldn’t be a problem.

Wednesday August 8, 2007 Cecil Howard Sinclair’s obituary was published.
Wednesday August 8, 2007 Arlington High Point Church pulled it’s invitation to hold the service:    

Cecil’s brother Lee, who was the member of the church, asked that we include a call to prayer near the beginning of the services, as well as a call for salvation at the end. We immediately agreed to this because it meant so much to his brother personally. We even asked if they wanted to have their own minister conduct it, or if our officiator could. There was no objection raised, so we assumed that it was OK.On Wednesday evening about 6pm, we received a call. The person on the line put Cecil’s brother Lee, who is mentally impaired, onto the phone. Lee informed us that something had gone wrong, and then someone else got on the phone. That person informed us that a terrible string of errors was made, and that the service could no longer be held at their facility. We never spoke to the pastor nor anyone from his administration directly. It was all done through middlemen. When we requested to know why we could no longer use their facility, there was no answer. They simply stated a mistake was made.

Wednesday August 8, 2007 Participants in Cecil Sinclair’s service were notified of the change of location.
 
Thursday August 9, 2007  About 100 people attend the memorial at Moore Funeral Home Bowen Road Chapel in Arlington Texas. Two area churches,  Agape MCC, University Christian Church volunteer to hold the service, however, final arrangements were made and paid for by an unknown person at Arlington High Point Church.

Friday, August 10, 2007 Eva Bowers Cecil’s mother, speaks to The Dallas Morning News. Kathleen Wright speaks to The Associated Press. Paul Wagner and Dr. Tim Seeling also respond to the media statements made by Gary Simons, contradicting the church’s understanding of what occurred.

Monday, August 13, 2007, Kathleen Wright speaks to The Star-Telegram, the article is published Tuesday.

Wednesday, August 12, 2007 media is alerted to the Arlington High Point Church website statement. It is not the statement given to media Sunday. 
Wednesday, August 12, 2007  The Dallas Morning News says it has the DVD with the 72 photos submitted by family and friends for Cecil Sinclair’s memorial. Three photos are put online at DallasNews Religion. 

The Family - Cecil Sinclair’s life partner, Paul Wagner; his mother, Eva Bowers; his father and stepmother, Walter Lee and Pat Sinclair; his brothers, Walter Lee Sinclair Jr. and John Edward Sinclair; his sister, Kathleen Wright; their families; and a large extended family.
 
High Point Church leaders on record- Gary Simons

At Issue  
    
This is the statement read at Arlington High Point Church Sunday, August 12, 2007 and given to media.

“High Point Church regrets the unfortunate situation regarding the memorial service for Mr. Cecil Sinclair. Mr. Sinclair was not a member of High Point Church, neither was anyone in his family, except for Lee Sinclair, who is employed by the church. Lee requested for the church to pray for his brother when he became ill. The church prayed for Mr. Sinclair both enthusiastically and faithfully. Lee called one of our ministers to inform him that his brother was in the hospital in critical condition.

“When the High Point minister arrived at the hospital, Mr. Sinclair had already passed. The church minister reached out to the family and tried to comfort them the best that he could. The church did offer the family, free of charge, the use of this facility for the memorial service. It was not disclosed at this time that the deceased was homosexual or that the family desired an openly homosexual memorial service.

“The family requested that the church produce a video of Mr. Sinclair’s life for the memorial service. When the photos were presented to the church, there were some inappropriate images that alerted the church to the homosexuality of Mr. Sinclair. The family requested an associate of the Turtle Creek Chorale, an openly homosexual choir, to officiate the service and for the choir to sing. They also requested an open microphone format to allow anyone in attendance to speak. High Point Church ministers would not be allowed to direct the service, or to have control over what was said or emphasized. It appeared to the church staff that the family was requesting an openly homosexual service at High Point Church, which is not our policy to allow.

“The decision was made to retract the offer to host the memorial service. It is important to emphasize that this was not a funeral service for a body to be buried, but only a memorial service. Both Lee and his sister Kathleen were informed of the decision. The decision had nothing to do with the fact that Mr. Sinclair was a veteran. High Point Church does now and has always supported our men and women in the military.

“This decision was not based on hate, or discrimination, but upon principle and policy.

“We cannot glorify homosexually as a lifestyle. We cannot put inappropriate images on our screens or subject our members, and possibly even our children, to an openly homosexual service. We cannot condone what the word of God condemns.

“The issue is not whether we hold a memorial service in a lifestyle of sin. We’ve assisted many families in this regard. The issue is whether we would allow an openly homosexual memorial service in our church. We love the homosexual, but cannot condone the homosexual lifestyle. We could not allow homosexuality to be glorified in this house of worship.

“To assist the family in securing another location, an offer was made to pay for alternative venue, which the family declined. We produced for the family a memorial video they requested without the inappropriate photos. We also prepared and delivered food for the family and 100 relatives and friends. Our love for the family was demonstrated over and again in our many acts of kindness and concern. Many of our faithful members spent hours cooking and preparing the meals and our staff worked diligently to meet the needs of the family.

“Many of our staff members went to the memorial service in support of the family. The memorial service located at Moore Funeral Home did confirm our concerns, as the tone was openly homosexual.

“The church believes that the right decision has been made and holds firm to its convictions concerning homosexuality.

“It’s our desire to always demonstrate the love of Christ to all people in both word and deed. We would hope that the Sinclair family and the homosexual community would see our love for them through the many acts of kindness and outreach that we have extended to them. We realize that they might not agree with our convictions, but we hope that they would respect them.

“We do love and pray for the Sinclair family, and ask God’s strength and comfort to be with them during this difficult time.”

This is the statement on Arlington Church website as of Wednesday, August 15, 2007. I’ve put changes in bold.

High Point Church Could Not Allow an Openly Homosexual Service in the Church

Mr. Cecil Sinclair was not a member of High Point Church. Neither was anyone in his family except for the deceased’s brother, Lee Sinclair, who is an employee of the church.

Lee recently requested the church to pray for his brother who was ill. The church prayed for Mr. Sinclair both enthusiastically and faithfully.

Lee called an employee of the church to inform him that his brother was in the hospital in critical condition. When the High Point Church employee arrived at the hospital, Mr. Sinclair had already passed. The church employee reached out to the family and tried to comfort them the best he could. The church did offer the family, free of charge, the use of its facility for the memorial service. It was not known at this time that the family desired a memorial service that would openly celebrate the homosexual lifestyle of Mr. Sinclair.

The family requested that the church produce a video of Mr. Sinclair’s life for the memorial service. When the photos were presented to the church the day before the scheduled memorial service, there were some inappropriate images that alerted the church to the homosexuality of Mr. Sinclair. One photo showed a man with his hand touching another man’s genitalia. The phrase “like hugs and kisses” used by a staff member to describe to the pastor the blatant homosexual reference was mild at best.

The family desired an associate of an openly homosexual choir to officiate the service and for the choir to sing. They also desired an open microphone format to allow anyone in attendance to speak. High Point Church ministers would not be directing or have control over what was said or emphasized. It became clear to the church staff that the family was requesting an openly homosexual service at High Point Church – which is in obvious contradiction to the scripture and therefore our religious convictions. 

Once this information was made known to the High Point staff, a decision was made to make alternative arrangements, at the expense of the church, that would meet the needs of the family and not subject our sanctuary to being used for a memorial service where homosexuality would be celebrated.  The family was informed of the decision.

Allowing an openly homosexual service in our facility would condone homosexuality as a lifestyle. While we open our doors to everyone, including homosexuals who desire a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, we cannot and will not allow our sanctuary to be used by outside organizations or individuals who want to flaunt or glorify any immoral lifestyle.  We cannot condone what the Word of God condemns. 

The issue was not whether we would hold a memorial service for someone in a lifestyle of sin. We have assisted many families in this regard. The issue was whether we would allow an openly homosexual service that celebrated and emphasized homosexuality in our church. We love the homosexual, but cannot condone the homosexual lifestyle. We will not allow homosexuality to be glorified in this house of worship whether it is in a memorial or in a wedding.

To assist the family in securing another location, an alternative venue was paid for - which the family declined. We produced for the family the memorial video they requested without the inappropriate photos. We also prepared and delivered food for the family and one hundred relatives and friends. Our love for the family was demonstrated over and again in our many acts of kindness and concern. Many of our faithful members spent hours cooking and preparing the meals and our staff worked diligently to meet the needs of the family.

Several of our staff members went to the memorial service in support of the family. The tone of the service did confirm our concerns. The church believes that the right decision was made and holds firm to its convictions concerning homosexuality.

It is our desire to always demonstrate the love of Christ to all people in both word and deed. We would hope that the Sinclair family and the homosexual community would see our love for them through the many acts of kindness and outreach that we have extended to them. We realize that they may not agree with our convictions, but hope that they would respect them.

We do love and pray for the Sinclair family and ask God’s strength and comfort to be with them during this difficult time.

Dallas ReligionNews has the supposed ’hugging and kissing’ ick photo and the other 71 photos submitted on the DVD.
 
Gary Simons version has gone from ‘hugging and kissing’ to  ‘One photo showed a man with his hand touching another man’s genitalia.’
Well, yes, it does, and here it is.

The photo is of Cecil and his brother John on vacation about 20 years ago.

Update: Straight Not Narrow asks a couple of important questions. It is important not to allow this particular church to frame the debate and denigrate the Sinclair family:

Sort of easy to forget that a family lost a loved one here, isn’t it? It’s bad enough they had to mourn, they also had to cope with a public campaign to smear the deceased.

So tell me again why some GLBT people are predisposed to mistrust the church?